Gareth Messenger

Right, let me get this out of the way – this match I’m about to talk about is my favourite in UEFA Champions League history. Don’t judge me, for me this game had everything.

I’m talking about the quarter-final between Borussia Dortmund and Malaga on 9 April 2013. I’ve rarely finished watching a game of football and had to catch my breath after. This match brought about a first for me in that regard. 

As a neutral, I think many of us watching would secretly have been cheering on that year’s underdogs, Malaga. The boys from the Costa del Sol had already wiped aside AC Milan and Zenit in the group stage and dispatched of 2004 winners Porto in the Round of 16. 

The side with the famous blue of white stripes had a certain aura about them in the 2012/13 campaign. The club’s first-ever outing in the Champions League, manager Manuel Pellegrini had assembled an ambitious yet adoring squad. 
The experienced Willy Caballero in goal. Martin Demichelis at the heart of the defence.

The ever-graceful Jeremy Toulalan propping up the midfield. The flair of Joaquin on the wing, supported by the exciting talent of Isco. In attack, a wide variety with South American trio Roque Santa Cruz, Julio Baptista and Javier Saviola all primed and ready to fire in the goals. For the hipsters among us, this was a team to savour. 

On the other side of the picture though, was an equally exciting unit. The heavy-metal machine of Borussia Dortmund led by the intense Jurgen Klopp, with frightening attacking talents Robert Lewandowski, Mario Gotze and Marco Reus striking fear into the hearts of those who crossed their path. 

A goalless draw in the first leg at La Rosaleda may have had many turning their noses up at the opportunity to avoid the second leg. How wrong were they? 

What this day, seven years ago, brought us was death-defying drama all wrapped up into a gripping game gift-wrapped into a Champions League classic. 

At half-time, the score was 1-1. Joaquin’s 25th-minute opener was cancelled out by Robert Lewandowski five minutes before the break, although the sunshine stars from Spain were heading through on the away goals rule. 

Nobody could predict the drama to come in the closing stages. Eight minutes from time, and the Malaga fairy tale looked like it would continue. When substitute Eliseu struck for Pellegrini’s side, the usually vociferous Westfalenstadion was stunned into silence. It was contentious too, there was a strong hint of offside – one that would have been heavily scrutinised by VAR if it was played in 2020.

Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp had talked before the match about his desire to see his team's "wonderful story" continue. The team sucked out all the life the atmosphere could deliver to stage the most iconic endings in Champions League history. 

First, Reus slotted home into an empty net from eight yards in the first minute of injury time. A start – but still not enough. Malaga were going through on away goals with just a few minutes of stoppage time remaining. 

The tension grew. The feeling in the air was reminiscent of that eerie scenes before the Battle of Winterfell in Game of Thrones. Instead, this was the Battle of Westfalenstadion, and Dortmund were about to win. 

Felipe Santana pounced after a huge scramble inside the penalty box. Here comes the extra controversy, several Dortmund players looked to be offside as the initial ball was played into the Malaga area and, seconds later, Santana was also in an offside position when he scored the winner, touching home a goal-bound effort from substitute Julian Schieber.

The chaotic scenes at the end sparked wild celebrations from those in black and yellow, with Dortmund reaching the next round and maintaining their unbeaten record in the competition. 

It was a bitter blow for a magnificent Malaga side who had charmed Europe. It was particularly harsh on Manuel Pellegrini, who had only arrived in Dortmund on the Tuesday after flying back from his native Chile, where he had attended the funeral of his father a day before.